10 steps to successful breastfeeding
NMC Royal Women’s Hospital encourages, promotes, and supports breastfeeding by implementing the 10 steps of the WHO and UNICEF.
Critical management procedures
- Comply fully with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions
- Have a written infant feeding policy that shall be routinely communicated and visible to all staff and parents in NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
- Establish ongoing monitoring and data-management systems Integrate recording and monitoring of the clinical practices related to breastfeeding into ourquality improvement/monitoring system.
Step 2: Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence, and skills to support breastfeeding
- All new NMC Royal Women’s Hospital staff (clinical and non-clinical) will receive orientation regarding baby friendly policy.
- All health care staff who provide infant feeding services, including breastfeeding support, should have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support women to breastfeed.
Key clinical practices
Step 3: Discuss the importance of management of breastfeeding with pregnant women and their families
- All associated clinical staff shall be responsible to educate pregnant women and their support person (if available).
Step 4: Facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin to skin contact and support mothers to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth
- Encourage all mothers to place their baby in skin to skin contact immediately after birth for at least 60 minutes and/or until complete the first feeding unless contraindicated for medical reasons.
Step 5: Support mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding and manage common difficulties
- All breastfeeding mothers shall receive practical support to enable them to initiate and maintain breastfeeding and demonstrate good positioning and attachment at the breast within 6 hours after birth.
- Help mothers with common breastfeeding problems and educate them on ways to facilitate milk production, evidence on baby consuming enough breast milk and how to express breast milk.
Step 6: Do not provide breastfed newborns any food or fluids other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated
- Mothers should be discouraged from giving any food or fluids other than breast milk unless medically indicated, with the reasons clearly documented in the medical record.
Step 7: Enable mothers and their infants to remain together and to practice rooming in 24hours a day
- Mothers and their infants are to remain together and to practice rooming in 24hours a day unless a justifiable reason for separation is advised and documented.
Step 8: Support mothers to recognize and respond to their infants’ cues for feeding
- Support mothers to recognize and respond to their infant’s cues for feeding, with no restriction on the length or frequency of feeds.
Step 9: Counsel mothers on the use and risks of feeding bottles, teats and pacifiers
- Artificial teats, bottles or pacifiers shall not be given to breastfeeding babies unless medically indicated with reasons documented in the medical record, except if parental choice.
Step 10: Coordinate discharge so that parents and their infants have timely access to ongoing support and care
- All discharged Mothers have been informed where they can access breastfeeding support.